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Our Little Canadian Cousin 
of the Great Northwest 





THE 


Little Cousin Series 


(TRADE mark) 

Each volume illustrated with six or more full page plates in 
tint. Cloth, 12mo, with decorative cover 
per volume, $1.00 

LIST OF TITLES 

By Col. F. A. Postnikov, Isaac Taylor 
Headland, Edward C. Butler, 

AND Others 


Our Little African Cousin 
Our Little Alaskan Cousin 
Our Little Arabian Cousin 
Our Little Argentine Cousin 
Our Little Armenian Cousin 
Our Little Australian Cousin 
Our Little Austrian Cousin 
Our Little Belgian Cousin 
Our Little Bohemian Cousin 
Our Little Boer Cousin 
Our Little Brazilian Cousin 
Our Little Bulgarian Cousin 
Our Little Canadian Cousin 
of the Great Northwest 
Our Little Canadian Cousin 
of the Maritime Provinces 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 
Our Little Cossack Cousin 
Our Little Cuban Cousin 
Our Little Czecho-Slovac 
Cousin 

Our Little Danish Cousin 
Our Little Dutch Cousin 
Our Little Egyptian Cousin 
Our Little English Cousin 
Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
Our Little Finnish Cousin 
Our Little French Cousin 
Our Little German Cousin 
Our Little Grecian Cousin 
Our Little Hawaiian Cousin 


Our Little Hindu Cousin 
Our Little Hungarian Cousin 
Our Little Indian Cousin 
Our Little Irish Cousin 
Our Little Italian Cousin 
Our Little Japanese Cousin 
Our Little Jewish Cousin 
Our Little Jugoslav Cousin 
Our Little Korean Cousin 
Our Little Malayan (Brown) 
Cousin 

Our Little Mexican Cousin 
Our Little Norwegian Cousin 
Our Little Panama Cousin 
Our Little Persian Cousin 
Our Little Philippine Cousin 
Our Little Polish Cousin 
Our Little Porto Rican Cousin 
Our Little Portuguese Cousin 
Our Little Quebec Cousin 
Our Little Roumanian Cousin 
Our Little Russian Cousin 
Our Little Scotch Cousin 
Our Little Servian Cousin 
Our Little Siamese Cousin 
Our Little Spanish Cousin 
Our Little Swedish Cousin 
Our Little Swiss Cousin 
Our Little Turkish Cousin 
Our Little West Indian Cousin 


THE PAGE COMPANY 


53 Beacon Street 


Boston, Mass. 

















ALL THE FAMILY WENT TO GATHER THE TREE.” 

(See page 8i) 





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4i4i i|i4t4i 4i4i4i 4i4i 4i4i4i 4t4i4i 


Our Little Canadian 
Cousin of the 
Great Northwest 


By 

inrbvEmily F. Murphy 

(‘•JANEY CANUCK’*) 


Illustrated by 
Thelma Gooch 



Boston 

L. C. Page & Company 

(incorporated) 

MDCCCCXXIII 












Copyright, 1923, by 
L. C. Page & Company 
(incorporated) 

All rights reserved 


Made in U. S. A. 


First Impression, May, 1923 


PRINTED BY C. H. SIMONDS COMPANY 
BOSTON, MASS., U. S. A. 


AUG -I 1923 


©C1A752318 



PREFACE 

THE three Provinces of North-West Can¬ 
ada referred to in this volume are Manitoba, 
Saskatchewan and Alberta. These include an 
area of 862,972 square miles and originally 
formed a part of Rupert’s Land. 

In 1670, Charles II of England granted to 
certain traders a charter of incorporation to 
“the Governor and Company of Adventurers 
of England, trading into Hudson Bay.” To 
these traders, this gave not only a monopoly, 
but a proprietorship of all the region drained 
by the rivers flowing into Hudson Bay. In re¬ 
turn the traders were required annually to give 
the King, or his heirs, two black beavers and 
two elks as an acknowledgment of his suze¬ 
rainty. 

The motto of this trading company was 
Pro pelle cutem, “a skin for a skin.” 


VI 


Preface 


Two hundred years later, in 1870, the Prov¬ 
ince of Manitoba was created from land bought 
by the Canadian Government of this Hudson’s 
Bay Company and, in the year 1905, Alberta 
and Saskatchewan were also constituted to be 
Provinces. 

These three wide and wonderful Provinces 
combine a great variety of scenery and wealth 
of resources, and have drawn from all coun¬ 
tries in the world for their population. This 
Canadian Northwest may be truly called “the 
Child of the Nations,” embracing among its 
citizens—as it does—some thirty different 
nationalities. 

The original inhabitants, the Indians, were 
divided into different tribes but by reason of 
their inter-tribal warfare became greatly de¬ 
creased in numbers. When the buffalo disap¬ 
peared with the coming of the white man, the 
Indians were still further decimated, the rem¬ 
nants of the tribes now living on Indian 


Preface 


• • 
Vll 

Reserves under the care of government 
agents. 

Great transcontinental railways have 
opened this enormous area to the world so that 
our little Canadian cousins of these great 
Provinces are not so isolated as they used 
to be, and may now enjoy the same privileges 
as their cousins of Ontario, Quebec, British 
Columbia, and the Maritime Provinces. It is 
of these privileges, with the history, sport 
and home life of the country that we would 
talk. 

Because the climate is cold for about seven 
months of the year, the home means more to 
Northern folk than to others. It stands for 
warmth, shelter, color, love. Here, we speak 
of home as “a nest,” and of all our similes this 
seems the most appropriate. 

In these regions we cannot understand an in¬ 
difference to home, a fact that has been well- 
noted by one of our Saxon poets:— 


Vlll 


Preface 


“Oh' tell her, Swallow, thou that knowest each, 
That bright and fierce and fickle is the South, 

And dark and true and tender is the North! 

Oh tell her. Swallow, that the brood is flown. 

Say that I do but wanton in the South, 

But, in the North, long since, my nest is made!* 

It is of this, in particular, that we would tell 
you. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I The Twins. 

II The Journey to the Farm . 

III Ponies and Picnics. 

IV Riders of the Plains. 

V The Work of the Mounted Police . 

VI Bears and Buffaloes. 

VII Shopping in Edmonton. 

VIII Ian OF “The Fur Brigade” . 

IX Holiday Surprises. 


PAGE 

I 

12 

26 

33 

42 

51 

61 

69 

80 







List of Illustrations 


“ All the family went to gather the tree ” 

(See page 8i) . . . ... . Frontispiece 

“ Daddy had said good-by to them the night 
before ”.8 

“They were to ride after the cows each evening” 28 
“They patrol the country”.34 

“ Nothing interested the party so much as the 

buffaloes ”. 57 

“Much of the holiday season was spent by the 

CHILDREN ON THE TOBOGGAN SLIDES ” . . . .84 















Our Little Canadian Cousin of 
the Great Northwest 

CHAPTER I 

THE TWINS 

It was Empire Day in Canada, that is to 
say the 24th of May, when Betty and Billy 
Maynard were to say good-by to their father. 
Colonel Maynard, who had been ordered over¬ 
seas to fight with the allied forces in the great 
World War. 

The twins — for such they were — had 
heard and read of war before, but a war that 
was to take their father away was something 
different, and they were trying very hard to be 
brave like Mother and not to show how un¬ 
happy they felt. 

“ There’s a big knot in my throat,” said 


1 


2 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

Betty despairingly, “ and my voice can hardly 
get through it. I don’t think it would matter 
if I cried just a little^ ever so little. Do you 
think it would, Billy? ” 

“ Don’t you do it, or I’ll — I’ll — I’ll never 
speak to you again,” remarked her twin with 
apparently a bigger knot in his throat. “ Girls 
are cry babies anyway. And, oh Betty, do you 
mind what Uncle Bob said last week when he 
was in town? He said if you cried and made 
it hard for soldiers to go to war, you were 
‘ showing the white feather,’ and maybe you 
were a coward too.” 

“ I’ll tell you what we can do,” answered 
Betty, “ I have only thought of it this very min¬ 
ute. We will get Mother to write to the King 
in England to let Daddy stay at home with us.” 

“ Don’t be a goose,” said Billy with the full 
dignity of his eleven years — eleven next birth¬ 
day, you understand — “ don’t you know that 
Daddy is a soldier like the one in the song; 


of the Great Northwest 


3 


‘ And when we say weVe always won, 

And when they ask us how it’s done; 

We will proudly point to every one 
Of England’s Soldiers of the King.’ ” 

“ It’s you that are silly, putting your stom¬ 
ach out instead of your chest. Huh! soldiers 
never march like that. Besides, Father is a 
Canadian soldier of the King.” 

If Mrs. Maynard had not joined them at this 
moment, there is no telling what might have 
happened for even through its coat of tan, 
Billy’s face was flushed with wrath because of 
the slur which his twin had placed upon, what 
he was pleased to consider, a fine soldierly 
bearing. 

When Mrs. Maynard had heard both sides 
of the story, she drew the children to her and 
explained patiently how Canada and its Prov¬ 
inces were a part of a great group of nations 
called an Empire and that London, England, 
was their capital city. It would not be possible 


4 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

for her to write a letter as Betty had planned, 
for all strong young men of the Empire 
whether their faces were black, white, red or 
yellow were called to serve under the flag so 
that they might save their country from being 
taken by hostile nations. 

“ But why cannot the soldiers fight in Winni¬ 
peg, instead of going over the ocean? ” queried 
the girl. “ Don’t we ever have war in 
Canada?” 

” God forbid we should,” replied her mother 
with a tremor in her voice. “ It is a hundred 
years and more, that we have been at peace. 
This is because we have such friendly neigh¬ 
bors to the South of us in the United States of 
America. In that country, the people speak 
our language and most of them are of British 
stock like ourselves. This is why we have no 
soldiers or forts on our long boundary line, 
— over three thousand miles long, and why 
we have remained as brothers of one family. 


of the Great Northwest 5 

“ Although there have been no regular sol¬ 
diers in the Northwest Provinces, we used to 
have numerous forts which were built along 
our rivers or on our great lakes.” 

“ Oh yes! I know about those,” said Billy. 
“ Daddy told me that Fort Garry is now Win¬ 
nipeg, and the capital city of the Province of 
Manitoba. He told me, too, how Main Street 
used to be an Indian trail, and this is why it 
twists with the River. One Indian would 
walk ahead of the other and whenever there 
was a soft piece of ground or a bunch of trees, 
the Indian walked around it and made a 
crooked path.” 

“ But Mother,” said Betty, who although 
thought to be a little girl, was really a walking 
interrogation mark, “ if there were no soldiers 
here, why was Winnipeg called ‘ Fort Garry ’ ? 
Doesn’t a fort always have soldiers?” 

“Not always. Dearie! When the em¬ 
ployees of the Hudson’s Bay Company—or 


6 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

as they were called in their Royal Charter, 
‘ the Gentleman Adventurers ’ — traded with 
the Indians, they built high wooden walls to 
keep the Indians from raiding the place, or 
from killing them. 

“ There are a number of these old trading 
forts in the Northwest Provinces, although, of 
course, they are not used now and the Indians 
are more civilized and fewer in numbers.” 

“ Oh yes! there is a fine story about one of 
these forts in our history but I cannot pro¬ 
nounce its name,” ejaculated Billy. “ It is 
about some Indians who invited the men out 
of the walls to play lacrosse, and then they 
threw a ball into the fort and ran in after it.” 

“ The name of the fort was Michilimacki- 
nac,” said Mrs. Maynard. “ It is quite a long 
word for you, Sonny.” 

“ Yes, and when the Indians got inside, they 
drew their knives and scalped all the white 


men. 


of the Great Northwest 7 

“ But where did the Indians get money to 
buy things when there were no banks? ” asked 
Betty who had a savings bank account of her 
own and was the proud possessor of twenty- 
eight dollars, and eleven cents. “ How could 
they buy things, Mother?” 

“ The Indians used to pay for cloth, and 
fishing hooks and tea and tobacco with the 
skins of animals which they had trapped. 
These skins were called ‘ made heaver,’ and 
this is the meaning of the motto of the Hud¬ 
son’s Bay Company, ‘ A skin for a skin.’ 

Nowadays, the Indians live on land called 
Reserves which they work under the care of 
government agents. In the Provinces, we 
have no trouble with them, and some of the 
men in your father’s battalion, which leaves 
to-day, are splendid young fedmen who are 
going to fight for Canada.” 

“ But tell us mother, are the Indian tribes 
Canadians, just like us?” 


8 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

“Yes, Betty; they are the first Canadians 
but there is really no race of little Canadian 
Cousins, like the little Italian or French 
Cousins. Daddy was once an English Cousin; 
I was an American Cousin, while you and 
Billy are little Canadian Cousins” 

It was afternoon of the same day when a 
soldier in uniform drove to their house and 
took Mrs. Maynard and the children in a big 
car to the armories, where the men of their 
father’s battalion mustered, preparatory to en¬ 
training for the long journey to Quebec, from 
whence they would sail for England. 

Daddy had said good-by to them the night 
before and had told Billy how he was the man 
of the house now, and was always to think 
first of Mother and Betty. 

And he said other things that Billy was 
never to speak of unless Daddy did not come 
home again, but which he was never to forget 
for a moment. 



(C 


)} 


DADDY HAD SAID GOOD-BY TO THEM THE NIGHT BEFORE 













of the Great Northwest 9 

When they reached the armories, the bat¬ 
talion had already formed up with Colonel 
Maynard at the head of the men, looking very 
brave and handsome. 

The Lieutenant-Governor of the Province 
was there too, and many other persons of im¬ 
portance. Billy and Betty had seen the Gover¬ 
nor before, when, as the representative of the 
King, he went with an escort of soldiers to 
open Parliament, and they had been greatly 
impressed with his cocked hat and Windsor 
uniform that was heavy with gold braid. 
They were disappointed that he did not wear 
it on this occasion and looked just like the men 
whom Uncle Bob called “ civvies.” It was 
splendid to hear the bands play, and to see the 
soldiers marching past with their officer rid¬ 
ing ahead. The children clapped their hands 
with delight and shouted as their father 
saluted their mother and passed on. Surely 
they were proud of him and of his men. They 


10 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

remembered how mother said these young sol¬ 
diers came from all parts of the Province and 
that among them were miners, lawyers, uni¬ 
versity students, farmers, clerks, doctors, rail¬ 
way men, and surveyors. All the men wore 
maple leaves in bronze, this being the national 
emblem of Canada. 

Although the maple tree does not grow in 
Manitoba, the children knew several songs con¬ 
cerning it, as do all Canadian children. Only 
the week before, they had learned one to recite 
to their father before he went away, and which 
they both remembered now. 

And when her leaves, all crimson, 

Droop silently and fall, 

Like drops of lifeblood welling 
From a warrior brave and tall, 

They tell how fast and freely 

Would her children’s blood be shed, 

Ere the soil of our faith and freedom 
Should echo a foeman’s tread. 

Then hail to the broad-leaved Maple, 

With her fair and changeful dress! 


of the Great Northwest ii 


A type of our youthful country 
In its pride and loveliness. 
Whether in spring or summer, 
Or in the dreary fall, 

’Mid Nature’s forest children 
She’s fairest of them all. 


CHAPTER II 


THE JOURNEY TO THE FARM 

Next to having guardian angels there is 
nothing finer than a Grandfather and a Grand¬ 
mother — and even then, the matter is open to 
question. At least, this was what the twins 
thought when Mrs. Maynard read them a let¬ 
ter she had received the week following their 
father’s departure. This letter was from their 
grandparents who lived on a farm near Regina, 
the capital city of the Province of Saskatche¬ 
wan, and on which farm they were all invited 
to spend the summer, or longer if they felt like 
it. 

The immediate prospects of leaving the hot 
pavements of the city, and of having ponies to 
ride, filled the children with so great an excite¬ 
ment they could hardly exist through the closing 


12 


of the Great Northwest 13 

days of the school term or settle down to any¬ 
thing so drab and uninteresting as examina¬ 
tions. Still, they did not do badly after all, 
being able to send their father a report show¬ 
ing how William and Elizabeth Maynard (this 
is to say Billy and Betty) stood third and fifth 
respectively In their class. 

It had always been a trouble to the twins 
that they could not dress alike, as If both had 
been boys; but in summer time In the country 
the little girls and, indeed, the grown women 
often wear knickerbockers or riding breeches, 
so that they may enjoy the benefit of outdoor 
life the same as the male members of the 
family, without any one saying ‘‘Tomboy!” 
or “ Copy-cat! ” 

Betty’s trousers were made In bloomer- 
fashion and her upper garments of the style 
known as “ middies,” that Is to say, exactly 
after the pattern of those worn by sailors. 
Uncle Bob said these were “ just the thing,” 


14 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

and he also said she must ride her pony 
astride. He contended that a girl who rode 
a horse sidewise, looked like a heap of clothes 
hanging on to a clothes-peg, and likely to fall 
off at any minute. 

It was at full wheat-tide when they left Win¬ 
nipeg and passed out across the plains of Man¬ 
itoba. Everywhere, the great reaping ma¬ 
chines were cutting the grain, while the men 
followed behind piling the sheaves into stocks. 
In some places the grain was being hauled from 
the threshing machines to the huge tin grana¬ 
ries called elevators, from which it would be 
carried to the mills, or down to the Atlantic or 
Pacific seaboards for shipment to Europe and 
Asia. 

Sometimes, they passed through sweet-smell¬ 
ing hay-meadows over which the wind swept, 
making a sight long to be remembered. 

The Scotch conductor on the pullman car, 
a large happy looking man, stayed awhile to 


of the Great Northwest 15 

talk to the children and to answer the questions 
with which they plied him. He also taught 
them a song about the wheat, and made sure 
they had it correctly so they could write it to 
their Daddy:— 

There’s nothing half sae bonny, 

There’s nothing half sae grand, 

As the sunlight on the wheatfields 
In the bonny prairie land. 

The conductor did not know the length of 
this railroad but he said it was all day long, and 
then several days after that. He also told 
them that he knew the land by heart and could 
say it backwards. 

The train on which they rode was called “ an 
express ” because it was more expressly for 
travelers and so did not stop at every station 
for freight, and their coach was called “ a pull- 
man.” “ Does this mean that it should only 
pull men? Whv shouldn’t it pull women too ? ” 
asked Betty, who, since putting on knicker- 


i6 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

a 

bockers, had shown a strong leaning towards 
women’s rights. 

“ They are called pullmans after Mr. Pull¬ 
man, who first built the cars,” explained the 
conductor, “ and are cars where people can 
sleep in beds, have dressing-rooms, and get 
meals at almost any hour. 

“ When the trains first crossed these prov¬ 
inces, we had no observation cars with big 
windows, writing desks, and magazines such as 
we have now. Neither were new bulletins 
posted up for the travelers giving the tele¬ 
graphic news of the world for the day. The 
two great transcontinental railways in Canada 
— those which cross from ocean to ocean — 
are the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian 
National, the latter being owned and managed 
by the Government. 

“ These railways have great lines of steam¬ 
ships, too, so that when the Little Cousins in 
Europe or Asia come to the North-West 


of the Great Northwest 17 

Provinces of Canada, they nearly always travel 
'by one of these routes.” 

In the morning when the children awoke they 
were passing through the second of the Great 
Northwestern Provinces, that is to say Sas¬ 
katchewan. 

There were no trees in sight except those 
which had been planted around the snug little 
farm houses, the barns and the stables. 

“ I don’t think much of the prairies,” said 
Billy, “ for there are no stones to throw at 
things.” 

“ Neither do I,” replied his twin, “ for 
there is no place from which to dangle your 
feet.” 

But if there were no trees or stones, Billy 
and Betty declared they had never seen any¬ 
thing like the sun on the far horizon line which 
seemed to come straight out of the earth, and 
looked like a great red poppy blossoming in the 
sky. 


i8 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

As they passed close by the farms or vil¬ 
lages, the boys and girls, after the habit of 
the country — and a fine habit it is too — 
waved a friendly greeting to the travelers, 
which greeting the twins returned with much 
delight. 

These little villages are usually called after 
some famous man, or after that village in Great 
Britain, Europe or the United States from 
which the settlers came. Nearly all of the vil¬ 
lages have a hotel, a post office, a bank, a 
church, two or three stores and some 
houses while, here and there, was a small 
hospital. 

The children argued as to which village they 
would prefer to reside in. Betty preferred 
those with hospitals for she had quite made up 
her mind to become a nurse and to wear a 
uniform, while Billy decided he wanted to live 
in a village with only one school, so that if 
anything happened to the building or to the 


of the Great Northwest 19 

teacher, there was a likelihood of an almost un¬ 
limited holiday. Indeed, when he came to 
turn it over in his mind. Master William could 
not think it possible that any normal boy could 
ever want to live in the city, where there was a 
school in nearly every street, and where 
there might be dozens or even hundreds of 
teachers. 

Once, they caught sight of a strange animal 
with a slender body, a long, long neck and tiny 
hoofs. As it bounded lightly and gracefully 
over the plains, the children thought they had 
never seen anything half so beautiful. 

“ Dat sho’ am some antelope,” exclaimed the 
black porter in the white coat who halted in 
his work to see the sight. “ Dat goat des 
drapped eroun’ der train ter pass der time er 
day an’ to let yo’ see his color. 

“ Laws-a-massey, chillen, he’s no slue-footed 
fellow, dat one; he jump dat snow fence quick 
as wink yo’ eye. 


20 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

“ Yassum, de antelope er dat awful curious, 
yo’ des wave er flag an’ up he comes right till 
yo’ very hand. 

“ Next thing he knows, dat antelope, he sees 
seben stars square in the middle of the day, an’ 
no use for heem ter kick or make der slightest 
objection.” 

It was Betty who first caught sight of the 
coyote, as he was slinking away in the distance. 
These animals, Mrs. Maynard explained, are 
small prairie wolves which, while not dangerous 
to people, are very destructive to sheep and 
barnyard fowl. In the winter the farmers hunt 
and kill them with the aid of wolfhounds, col¬ 
lecting a bounty from the government for their 
pelts. The coyotes bay the moon at night 
after the manner of dogs, except that they have 
a long blood-curdling howl at the end of their 
bark which makes the listener think of them as 
much-to-be-feared fellows, whereas they are 
only slinking, cowardly sneak-<thieves. Any 


of the Great Northwest 21 

Little Cousin with a toy gun could chase them 
across the plains. 

Sometimes, when the train stopped to take 
on water for the engine, or to allow the pas¬ 
sengers and train-men to get a luncheon, Billy 
and Betty would gather wild asters, goldenrod, 
black-eyed Susans and branches that shone pur¬ 
ple-red with berries. 

At one of these stations, they saw two mem¬ 
bers of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police 
who patrol that district to keep good order, 
and to give help wherever it is needed. These 
are the men who make life safe in the lonely 
parts of the country, and who are kind of 
brothers to all the people. 

“ Sure an’ them’s the boys as has ‘ beats ’ a 
hundred miles square,” explained an Irish 
brakeman, who had rested from his labors on 
the edge of the station platform. 

“ It’s them as knows who is ‘ hard up ’ and 
why; how many head of cattle a man does be 


22 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

after havin’, and who is a thief. Sure an’ they 
have an eye that never sleeps right in the mid¬ 
dle of their forehead an’ folks had better be 
mindin’ their manners hereabout. 

“ Well, mebbe you’re right about not being 
able to see that eye, little Miss, for it is kind 
of inside their head, y’ mind. 

“ ‘ Riders of the Plains,’ that what the folks 
call them and I have it set out in my note¬ 
book. Very well, gossoon (this to Billy), you 
can write it down for your Dad if you like, an’ 
there’ll be no charge to you neither.” 

There are things unguessed, there are tales untold, 
in the life of the Great Lone Land, 

But here is a fact that the prairie-bred alone may 
understand. 

That a thousand miles in the fastnesses the fear of 
the law obtains. 

And the pioneers of justice were the Riders of the 
Plains. 

In the same coach, there was a little girl 
from England who was called Victoria after a 


of the Great Northwest 23 

great queen in that country, but this little visi¬ 
tor did not know so much about the country as 
Betty. 

“ O-ah, look at the big bath,” exclaimed Vic¬ 
toria when they sighted a pond of water some¬ 
times called a “ pot hole,” upon which floated 
a number of wild ducks that did not seem at 
all wild in spite of their name. 

“ Foo! ” interrupted Boy Billy, “ there are 
thousands and thousands of these. On Duck 
Day, every one shoots them, and father told 
me the farmers stored them away to eat in the 
winter. Maybe, Father is going to teach me 
to shoot too, with a gun all my own. He said 
that every boy in Canada ought to be taught 
to shoot, ride a horse, and tell the truth.” 

Victoria was also greatly excited about the 
saucy little gophers, sometimes called ground- 
squirrels, who sat up and gaped at the train or 
who darted suddenly into their holes, waving 
their tails in the air as they went. 


24 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

“ I think they look like surveyors’ pegs,” 
said Betty, “ they stand so still, and they are 
the same yellow color.” 

“ Once the government offered a bounty in 
money for their tails,” epcplained a district 
nurse, who had been listening to their conversa¬ 
tion, “ for the gophers ate a lot of the farmers’ 
grain, but the government had to withdraw this 
bounty because some of the people cut off the 
tails and let the gophers go free to rear other 
families of gophers. Nowadays, the people 
get rid of these little pests by snaring or poison¬ 
ing them.” 

The children did not know whether to laugh 
or be shocked by this story and I regret to say 
that they ended in laughing, for being still very 
young, they did not understand that in robbing 
the government, people also rob themselves. 

“Well! Well!” exclaimed the nurse. 
“ We really must not blame the gophers for eat¬ 
ing grain because, after all, it is their natural 


of the Great Northwest 25 

food. Besides, there are no earth-worms nor 
any potato bugs in these North-West Provinces, 
such as engage the attention of all little boys 
and most little birds in the other parts of 


Canada.’’ 


CHAPTER III 


PONIES AND PICNICS 

It was their grandfather who met them at 
the station the next morning with his motor 
car and drove them to the farm, where grand¬ 
mother had dinner prepared for them. 

And such a dinner it was! Billy and Betty 
were quite ready to declare that any one was 
foolish beyond understanding who did not live 
on a farm, and that there was really no need for 
cities, anyway. 

Both children had their plates laden with 
roast chicken, green peas, new potatoes, and 
pie of sweet raspberries upon which was heaped 
thick cream. 

During dinner, they learned that this farm 
was in the Qu’appelle Valley —the valley which 
calls. 


26 


of the Great Northwest 27 

“ What does it call, Grandfather? ” asked 
Billy. 

“ That depends upon several things,” an¬ 
swered his grandparent, “ upon your ear, your 
age and your ambition. After a while, you 
will be hearing the voice yourself and will be 
telling us what it calls.” 

Billy further elicited that the river which 
winds through the valley, and close by the 
farm, is caljed the Wascana, the Indian 
word for “ a pile of bones,” because in years 
gone by the Indians used to build fantastic 
piles of bones on its banks, those lands being 
the old stamping-grounds of the buffalo 
herds. 

After dinner. Uncle Bob took the children 
out to the stables to become acquainted with 
the two Indian ponies he had purchased for 
them. 

“ Your horse, Billy, is a buckskin,” said 
Uncle Bob, ‘‘ and a pitching chunk of trouble. 


28 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

but I expect you to hold on and bring him into 
shape. 

“ Your horse, Lassie, has such an easy gait 
you can almost sew button-holes while sitting in 
the saddle. She is called a ‘ pinto ’ because of 
her mottled appearance.” 

“ I think those big white splotches make her 
look exactly like a poached egg,” remarked 
Betty, “ but I like her very much, and think. 
Uncle Bob, you are almost as kind as Daddy.” 

The twins were also told they were to ride 
after the cows each evening with Alvin, the 
English boy from one of the immigrant homes, 
who lived on this farm. Sometime, when they 
had learned to manage the collie dog, the cows, 
and the ponies. Uncle Bob said they might 
bring the cows home by themselves. 

Uncle Bob had given Alvin a calf which the 
lad was feeding to show at the provincial ex¬ 
hibition where prizes were given for the best 
calf fed by a boy or girl. Alvin’s description 



u 




THEY WERE TO RIDE AFTER THE COWS EACH EVENING 







of the Great Northwest 29 

of how the children go to the fair and parade 
in the ring was told with so much lure and color 
that Betty and Billy desired straightway to 
trade their ponies for calves. He also told 
how during their stay in the city, the country 
children were driven around to see the sights, 
and how the Lieutenant-Governor gives them 
a tea party at the Government House. 

“ That calf, ’e is always ’ungry, ’e is,” con¬ 
fided Alvin to the twins, “ ’ungry as a sparrer, 
also ’e’s a hatful of trouble, but I keeps fleshin’ 
’im up with chop and meal, and marster, ’e 
says, as ’ow I’m sure to win the prize.” 

When not riding with Alvin, or riding on 
the loads of grain, Betty and Billy were busy 
picking currants, goose-berries, and cranberries 
for grandmother to preserve, and sometimes 
they helped at shelling peas, picking beans or 
gathering eggs, although Betty was rather 
afx^aid of the scolding stiff-mannered turkey- 
gobbler who made such horrible noises in his 


30 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

throat, and looked as if he might eat her any 
time. 

In the fields and gardens they learned the 
names of the different birds such as the doves, 
meadowlarks, plovers, cow-birds, hawks, wood¬ 
peckers, and once they saw an owl that said 
“ Wo-hunk, Wo-hunk! ” 

In the autumn they saw the wild geese flying 
south in a “ V ” shaped mass, far overhead, and 
making a great noise. Their necks were out¬ 
stretched; they beat the air with their wings, 
and followed the leader over what grand¬ 
mother said was “ an unmapped path.” In¬ 
deed, grandmother spent much time with the 
children in their rambles through the fields, 
and told them many beautiful things about the 
golden-rod, roses, tansy, blue-bells, wild cotton, 
and the morning-glories which seemed to have 
their ears tilted listening to the conversation. 

And their grandmother told them how these 
flowers were sown by a strong, unseen hand. 


of the Great Northwest 31 

and also that God did not count the days spent 
out-of-doors. 

Once they all went to a farmers’ picnic that 
was held in a grove of trees some miles away, 
and where they watched the game called la¬ 
crosse, which is an old Indian game played with 
long-handled rackets, something like those used 
in tennis. The match, which was between the 
young men of the two districts, was exciting as 
well as very graceful. 

“ The point of the game is to put the ball 
through the enemies’ goal,” explained Uncle 
Bob to Billy. “ The ball is manoeuvered from 
one racket to another of the same side, while 
the others try to secure it. You are not allowed 
to touch the ball with your hands, although you 
can strike another man’s racket with your 
racket and thus ‘ check ’ him.” 

The most pleasant event of the day, how¬ 
ever, was when the baskets were opened for 
supper. Betty helped to spread the white 


32 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

cloth on the grass, while Billy’s efforts were 
directed to the building of a fire over which to 
boil the kettles. Such good things there were 
in the baskets, too, — roasted fowl, ham, veal 
pies, bread and butter, lemon and berry tarts, 
and cakes, of quite a dozen sorts. 

As the family drove home in the quiet of the 
evening, the fireflies, who in the daytime have 
dainty business among the trees, flitted into the 
dark road and seemed'to the children like lovely 
stars. Grandmother told them how the Indian 
children of Canada had this same idea about 
the fireflies, and had written a song about them, 
something after this fashion:— 

Come little flitting, white-fire beast, 

Light me your white-flame magic 
You little star-torch. 


CHAPTER IV 


RIDERS OF THE PLAINS 

When harvest was over, the family decided 
to take the children to visit Regina, the capital 
city of Saskatchewan, so that they might see 
the headquarters of the Royal Northwest 
Mounted Police, sometimes called “ the 
Mounted,” “ the Warriors of Justice ” or “ the 
Riders of the Plains.” This is the most cele¬ 
brated constabulary in the world, not even ex¬ 
cepting the Royal Irish Constabulary or the 
celebrated Arizona Rangers. 

“ We must really see the Mounted Police in 
training, now that we are so near Regina,” said 
Mrs. Maynard, “ and we will visit with Dr. 
Strong, who was the surgeon of one of their 
posts for many years, and who is now retired. 
He is a friend of your father’s and will, I am 


33 


34 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

sure, be pleased to show us the riding school 
and the other sights of the place.” 

“ What do you mean by their posts, Mother? 
Are the police stationed at places called posts? ” 

“ Yes, Billy! The official quarters and bar¬ 
racks of each division is called the post. It is 
the hub of a system of patrols reaching out over 
an area of a million square miles. If we had 
a geography here, we could see that they patrol 
the country from the American boundary on 
the south, right up to Herschel Island in the 
Arctic Ocean, where they have the most 
northerly detachment in the world. This 
island is the winter quarters of the American 
whaling fleet, and the police are sent there to 
keep order and to protect the rights of the 
Eskimos. 

“ On the East coast of Canada, at the Hud¬ 
son’s Bay, the Mounted Police have other iso¬ 
lated posts, and these form a net-work of 
patrols clear across the Dominion, till they 



il 


if 


THEY PATROL THE COUNTRY 








V 




of the Great Northwest 35 

touch at Dawson City in the Yukon. Some¬ 
times, their patrol is on horseback, or with dog- 
teams, sometimes in canoes or boats, and often 
it is on foot, but wherever the patrolman goes 
he is honored and obeyed as the representative 
of His Majesty’s Government. 

“ Sometimes, these brave fellows lay down 
their lives in pursuit of their arduous duties. 
A few years ago, a young constable, on patrol, 
was overtaken by a blizzard and died in the 
snow. The following spring they found his 
body and, in the pocket of his storm-worn uni- 

I 

form, a report to the Inspector of the Post, at 
the conclusion of which he had painfully 
scrawled these words:— ‘ Lost, horse dead. 

Am trying to push ahead. Have done my 
best.’ 

“ These are the stories, son, which show the 
sense of duty, honor and gallantry of ‘ the 
Mounted.’ Maybe they establish, too, what 
the poet said in his couplet:— 


36 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

Never the lotus closes, 

Never the wild flower wake, 

But a soul out on the East Wind, 

That died for Empire’s sake. 

“ How long have ‘ the Mounties ’ been in the 
Northwestern Provinces,” queried Billy, “ and 
why did they come at all? ” 

“ The first detachment came to Winnipeg, or 
rather to Fort Garry, about fifty years ago,” 
replied his mother, “ and traveled westward 
across the Provinces which were then unorgan¬ 
ized ‘ territories.’ This detachment was sent 
by the Canadian Government to preserve law 
and order, and to advise the settlers who were 
then beginning to take up farms and build 
roads. Your father always said that when¬ 
ever there was a problem in this country, the 
Mounted Police was the answer to it. At any 
rate, there has never been a lynching in the 
Canadian Northwest because the pioneers 
knew that justice would be meted out in the 
end, and that no matter how long it took, or 


of the Great Northwest 37 

how hard the trail they followed, the Mounted 
Police always ‘ got their man.’ ” 

“But what I want to know, is why they wear 
only red coats? ” ejaculated Betty, “ instead of 
blue, brown, or some other color?” 

“ They do wear other colors now although, 
formerly, they wore only red. I cannot tell 
you the reason though, but it is likely your 
grandfather would know.” 

Being appealed to by the children for in¬ 
formation upon this point, that gentleman, 
who had just joined the party, replied that the 
Indians liked this color best, and so the Govern¬ 
ment ordered the soldier-police to wear red 
jackets. 

“ Did you ever hear of the great American 
writer who said he liked any color so long as it 
was red? No! well, this was how the In- 
dians felt about the officers’ tunics. They had 
heard the old warriors tell around the camp 
fires of the red-coated white men who had 


38 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

fought side by side with their fathers, and how 
these men had always been brave and honor¬ 
able. White men wearing black coats, or any 
other colored coats would lie, and steal and 
cheat Indians, but men with red coats were to 
be implicitly trusted. 

“ In some way or other, they also associated 
this color with Queen Victoria whom they 
knew as ‘ the Great Mother,’ and that her 
soldiers were to be relied upon. 

“ One of the rules of the force is that a 
constable must never shoot at a man, not even 
a murderer, unless the man shoots first. This 
might seem to be disastrous for the constables 
(or ‘ bucks ’ as they call themselves) but once 
a criminal is cornered by them, he usually gives 
in without ado, for he knows that, in the end, 
he will be taken and be more severely dealt 
with. 

“ At the time of the Custer massacre in the 
United States, a band of two hundred Cana- 


of the Great Northwest 39 

dian Crees with 450 horses crossed into Mon¬ 
tana, fearing punishment for their share in the 
rebellion, but they were brought back to the 
border by ‘ Uncle Sam’s ’ cavalry and handed 
over to the Mounted Police. 

“ The officer in command of the American 
cavalry was amazed to find that there were 
only three men, one corporal and two troopers, 
sent to take charge of the Crees. “ Where is 
your company? ” asked the officer. “ Here it 
is,” replied the corporal. “ There is another 
fellow but he is getting breakfast.” 

“Are there only four of you, then? ” 

“ Yes, that’s the number, but you see we 
wear the Queen’s scarlet.” 

“Was there any trouble. Grandfather? 
Did the Crees come along with the Red 
Coats?” 

“ Of course, they did. They were escorted 
a hundred miles up from the border, and made 
no further attempts to visit in Montana.” 


40 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

“ But Grandfather, why are the Mounted 
men called ‘ Royal ’ ? ” asked Billy. “ I can’t 
understand that.” 

“ They were given this title because of the 
gallant part they played in the South African 
War. The police did not go as a body but a 
large portion of the officers and men volun¬ 
teered for service in the famous cavalry known 
as Strathcona’s Horse. In the year 1900, Lord 
Strathcona, at his own expense, mounted and 
equipped this force in Northwestern Canada, 
and landed them at Cape Town, in South Af¬ 
rica. Some of these men traveled six hun¬ 
dred miles on the ice of the Yukon to enlist. 
Indeed, the men were recruited from a terri¬ 
tory of over a million square miles. All 
these men were hard riders and quick shots, 
and had the fine staying powers known as 
‘ sand.’ 

“ One of them. Sergeant A. H. Richardson, 
won the Victoria Cross ‘ For Valor,’ the dec- 


of the Great Northwest 41 

oration that is more coveted than any other, 
by soldiers of the Empire. 

“ His comrade had been twice wounded and 
his horse had been shot, but Richardson rode 
back to within 300 yards of the enemy’s posi¬ 
tion and rescued the fallen man. 

“ The Mounted Police fought once before, 
in the North-West Rebellion of 1885, and 
just now they are lighting in France with the 
Allied Army. 

“ When members of the Royal Family or the 
Governors-General of Canada have come to 
these Northwestern Provinces, the Riders of 
the Plains have acted as their escorts. Among 
those who came were the Duke and Duchess of 
Cornwall and York, now Their Majesties, 
King George and Queen Mary.” 


CHAPTER V 


THE WORK OF THE MOUNTED POLICE 

Dr. Strong of Regina had been the surgeon 
of Police for many years and was now retired 
on a comfortable pension. He was what they 
called “ a time-expired man,” but he was still 
as active as any natty, straight-backed sergeant, 
and had a fund of witty tales. 

” Bless you, boy,” he said to Billy at the sta¬ 
tion, “ we’ll let Grandfather and the ladies 
drive: young bloods like you and me must lead 
on horseback.” 

Billy was secretly very glad that he had 
learned to ride at the farm, for it must have 
been a terrible mortification not to have known 
how to rein his horse or, oh, horrors I to have 
fallen off. 

He knew, too, that Betty was envying him, 


42 


of the Great Northwest 43 

and was feeling badly that she had to sit in the 
carriage. Girls have to take a second place, 
sometimes, no matter how clever they think 
themselves. They cannot always expect to get 
the privileges of “ a real fellow, y’ know.” 

After breakfast and a walk in Mrs. Strong’s 
lovely garden, all the party visited the riding 
school at the Police headquarters where they 
saw the men practicing the musical ride, and 
the recruits being trained to stand at attention 
and to keep In line. 

“ The recruits or ‘ rookies ’ ” said the doc¬ 
tor, “ ride and drill, and then they drill and 
ride — but particularly they ride, till almost 
they feel themselves to be a part of their 
horses. Between times they are taught to 
drive several horses at once, to shoe a horse, 
or to take care of one that falls sick. 

“Weill Well! they do other things too — 
that Is to say, they are taught concerning the 
laws and penalties as set forth In the Criminal 


44 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

Code; how to brush and polish their accouter¬ 
ments; the rules as set forth in the Manual of 
the force and, above all, they are trained in 
marksmanship, an art that is wholly indispen¬ 
sable in open regions where a hunted man is 
apt to turn at bay. There is something so un¬ 
reasonable about a gun, children, it speaks 
without evasion and terribly to the point.” 

“ But what makes you a Mounted Police¬ 
man?” urged Billy. “How do you join?” 

“ When a recruit joins on for the required 
period of five years he takes an oath of alle¬ 
giance to the Sovereign together with the 
oath-of-office which runs as follows: ‘ I, A. 

B., solemnly swear that I will faithfully, dili¬ 
gently, and impartially execute and perform all 
lawful orders and instructions which I shall re¬ 
ceive as such, without fear, favor, or affection 
toward any person. So help me God.” 

The doctor further explained that while the 
‘ rookies ’ or ‘ awkward squad ’ are disciplined 


of the Great Northwest 45 

to perfection, their horses are also taught to 
stand under fire and to lie down while being 
fired over. Also, the horses are taught to 
ride where flags are waved and while Indian 
tom-toms are beaten in order that the horses 
may ‘ mind their helm ’ in any frontier encoun¬ 
ter. 

“ It’s out on the plains, though, that a man 
gets his best training,” said a corporal who 
was explaining the manoeuvers to them. “ It 
is there he learns to read the trails and the 
weather lore, and generally to take responsi¬ 
bility.” 

“ No, Madam, the work is really not so 
heavy,” the corporal replied to a question of 
Mrs. Maynard, “ because, you see, it keeps 
changing all the time. We are kind of sol- 
diers-of-all-work. Sometimes we are public 
health officials, mail carriers, prairie and for¬ 
est fire guardians, dog drivers, scouts, sailors, 
horse doctors, game guardians, patrolmen. 


46 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

telegraphers, canoemen, cooks, and again, we 
are kind of unpaid hired men to the new set¬ 
tlers.’’ 

“Ho! ho!” laughed Dr. Strong. “I can 
tell you ladies that we can also nurse a settler’s 
family on occasion and bring the doctor to 
them in a pinch. 

“ And then when he arrests the head of the 
household for any crime, he may be called upon 
to chop a pile of fire wood for the stricken 
household, or even to supply them with food.” 

The corporal explained further, that apart 
from their decorative duties on state occasions, 
the officers of the Mounted Police act daily in 
the capacity of magistrates, coroners, ex¬ 
plorers, timber agents, mining recorders and 
customs officials. 

Long ago, when they first came to the 
Northwestern Provinces, they used to fight 
the rum-runners or “ wolfers ” who carried 
“ fire-water ” to the Indians thus causing the 


of the Great Northwest 47 

red men to brawl and scalp each other. “ For 
sheer deviltry,” remarked the Corporal, “ there 
is nothing to compare with an Indian who is 
drunk except — well, except a drunken Indian. 
In one year — it was in 1870 — among the 
Blackfeet Indians alone, eighty-seven men 
were murdered in drunken brawls by other 
members of the tribe, the whisky being 
supplied them by these degenerate white 
‘ wolfers.’ 

“ What else did ‘ the Mounted ’ do on the 
prairies ? Let me see, — oh yes, they taught 
the Indians to abolish their tribal wars, and the 
practice of stealing horses from the ranchers 
on the American side of the boundary line. 
To ‘ run ’ a bunch of stolen horses across the 
border was considered by the Indians in no 
other light than that of a manly and gallant 
accomplishment. For this reason, it took 
some time and a very considerable patience to 
persuade the Crees and Blackfeet to desist 


48 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

from these alluring and profitable forays for 
the slower and more prosaic arts of horse-rais¬ 
ing and agriculture.” 

During their stay of forty-eight hours at 
Regina, Billy and Betty heard many stories 
about the Mounted Police — stories of how 
the great Canadian Pacific Railway was built 
through this land, and of how these soldier- 
police controlled the hostile red men who 
feared the invasion of their domains; tales of 
gold rushes, splendid pageants, and of notable 
Indians like Pia-a-Pot, Almighty Voice, Sitting 
Bull and Poundmaker, but the one that most 
keenly won their interest concerned the bring¬ 
ing to Edmonton of the Eskimos who had mur¬ 
dered the missionary priests in the Copper- 
mine Regions of the Arctic Ocean. 

This is known as the Great Bear Lake pa¬ 
trol, and was the longest ever made in the 
Dominion — probably in the world — its entire 
length being’nearly six thousand miles. The 


of the Great Northwest 49 

time occupied on the journey was over two 
years. 

Ilavinik, who had been a guide for Steifan- 
son, the great Arctic explorer, was sworn in 
as a special constable and interpreter, being 
the first Eskimo who had served in an official 
capacity to His Majesty, the King. It was he 
and two other Eskimos who accompanied the 
murderers and the Police officers to the Prov¬ 
ince of Alberta, where the trial took place. 

Two years later, the murderers were re¬ 
turned to their igloos of snow in order that 
they might carry to the far-away rim of the 
earth the story of the white man’s kindness and 
justice, and in order that life might be safer for 
the missionaries and explorers of the future. 

As the officers of the Mounted Police parted 
from their wards at the mouth of the McKen¬ 
zie River and the Arctic Ocean, they presented 
Ilavinik, their interpreter, with a handsome 
watch as a special recognition on behalf of the 


50 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

Government of His Majesty, the King, for 
faithful services rendered. “ The sun’s heart,” 
Ilavinik called the watch, and what more beau¬ 
tiful or appropriate definition could he have 
made? 

And what better tribute could he make to 
the police themselves than when he said, “ They 
are old ice, these young sons of clay-treaders, 
these ones from the far-off country on the 
edge of nothing where the earth ends. Strong 
ice are these sons, and putters-down of evil 
spirits. I, Ilavinik, the son of Tongwa, have 
said it.” 


CHAPTER VI 


BEARS AND BUFFALOES 

Before going to Edmonton, Grandfather 
and Grandmother Maynard and Uncle Bob 
took the twins and their mother on a trip to 
Banff, in the Rocky Mountains, one of the 
Canadian National Parks. 

The other park. Grandfather told them, was 
known as Jasper Park, after a fur trader who 
lived in the mountains over a hundred years 
ago when there was no other white man there. 
In this mountain is a Pass called the Yellow 
Head, so-named because the Indians used to 
call the trader Tete Jaune^ or “ Yellow Head,” 
just as saucy children long, long ago used to 
call out “ Red Head ” or “ Carrots ” to pas¬ 
sers-by. Perhaps, Billy and Betty would visit 


51 


52 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

Jasper Park sometime but, on this occasion, 
they were going to the Banff Park. 

On their way thither, while still on the prai¬ 
ries, the children saw several Indians on horse¬ 
back, there being a Reserve or settlement here¬ 
about. No white men are allowed to live on 
these Indian Reserves, except the Govern¬ 
ment’s agent, the teachers, and the doctor. 

“ This is where the Blackfeet Indians lived,” 
explained grandfather, “ and they were great 
fighters.” 

“ But why were they called Blackfeet? ” 
asked Billy. “ I thought they had red feet.” 

“ They received this name, not because their 
skin was dark, but because their moccasins be¬ 
came blackened from the burnt prairie grass. 
When new, these moccasins were a light tan 
color, being made from the hide of deer. Be¬ 
cause the Indians made no noise in walking, 
these were sometimes called ‘ the shoes of si¬ 
lence.’ Nowadays, white people wear moc- 


of the Great Northwest 53 

casins, too, when in the winter they go into the 
woods or for snow-shoeing or tobogganing.’* 
At the city of Calgary, on the way to Banff, 
our travelers crossed over a river called the 
Bow, and Uncle Bob who also accompanied 
them, explained that these were the old ranch 
lands over which the cowboy carried a long 
rope and lassoed the horses or cattle by throw¬ 
ing the rope in the air with a wide circling 
movement. 

“ Were these the men who were ‘broncho 
busters’?” asked Billy, “and is this where 
they branded the cattle with hot irons so that 
no one could steal them? ” 

“ Yes, this is the very place,” replied Uncle 
Bob, “ here, and further to the south, where 
horses and cattle still run the ranges; but most 
of the land has been taken up by homesteaders 
who are raising grain, the government having 
put in large irrigation ditches, which water the 
land and make it fertile.” 


54 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

It was after nightfall when they arrived 

at Banff so that the children could not see any- 

* 

thing but the great towering mountains which 
surrounded the village, and the beautiful hotel 
on the mountain side at which they were to 
stay. Uncle Bob, however, told them that 
this place was the gateway to the mountains 
and Yoho Park Reserve; that there were many 
wild animals here which were preserved by the 
Government, and how these had become so 
tame that even the black bears came down to 
the village and ate food out of the refuse tins. 

“ Oh dear! oh dear! ” cried Betty. “ I hope 
they may stay away while we are here, I should 
be dreadfully afraid if ever they spoke to me.” 

It may be said here, however, that before 
- she left this lovely place, one of Betty’s great¬ 
est delights was to watch the little bear cubs 
in the park who wrestled with each other, 
boxed like boys, played at hide and seek, and 
worried their mother like little girls. 


of the Great Northwest 55 

In the morning, the children and Mrs. May¬ 
nard took their baths in the enormous stone 
basin which is filled from the sulphur 
springs, as the water comes up hot from the 
earth. 

Billy stood on the diving-board and plunged 
into the water, having learned how to dive 
while camping with the Boy Scouts last sum¬ 
mer at the Lake of the Woods, but Betty re¬ 
fused “ to take a dare.” 

Indeed, they all paddled around so long 
and accumulated so much sulphur that Grand¬ 
mother Maynard declared she would only have 
to strike a match stick on them to have it burst 
into flame. 

As this National Park takes in two thou¬ 
sand square miles, Billy and Betty were not 
able to see it all, although they were quite 
willing to stay forever, in order that they 
might; but they did see the buffaloes in the 
park, and red foxes, timber wolves, and the 


56 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

beaver which is the symbolic animal of the 
Dominion of Canada. 

The timber wolves were kept in enclosures, 
and were very savage looking, one of these be¬ 
ing nearly five feet long. 

“ In the northern woods,” explained the 
keeper, “ they are fierce and cunning, so that 
travelers are obliged to light fires to keep 
them from entering the camps at night.” 

When asked how he knew a timber wolf 
from the prairie wolf, the keeper said, “ The 
timber wolf is of a gray color, with a nearly 
black back and carries his tail straight out. 
Besides, he is much larger than any other of 
the species.” 

He also told them how these wolves trav¬ 
eled in packs with a leader and that a great 
poet, noting this, had said, 

“The strength of the pack is the wolf 
And the strength of the wolf is the pack.” 



NOTHING INTERESTED THE PARTY SO MUCH AS THE 

BUFFALOES.” 










of the Great Northwest 57 

Nothing interested the party so much as the 
buffaloes with their immense heads and shoul¬ 
ders, and magnificent locks. Some of these 
animals weighed as much as two thousand 
pounds. 

“ I think the buffaloes’ horns look like 
Christmas trumpets,” urged Betty, and indeed, 
she was almost sure they were trumpets when 
she heard one of the animals bellow as he 
pawed up the earth for apparently no reason 
at all. 

The guide told how long ago, when there 
were millions of these buffaloes on the plains 
of the Northwest Provinces, the Indians ate 
the meat for food; made clothes and houses 
from the skin; tools from the bones and horns, 
and used the dung for fuel, so that the de¬ 
struction of the herds was a serious loss to the 
Indians and led to the tribes becoming almost 
extinct. 

“ Bless your heart, children,” said Grand- 


58 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

mamma, “ and how could Indians be expected 
to go on living when they had no food, clothes, 
houses, tools or fuel? It is not to be expected. 
Besides, who would want to live under these 
circumstances anyway?” 

On the following day it was Grandfather 
Maynard’s turn to take charge of the bathing 
party, so they went to the natural cave, or 
basin, which is up the mountain side in a rock, 
and where it is almost impossible for any one 
to sink in the water. 

On their way to the basin they saw the large 
trees called the Douglas Spruce, the bark of 
which is so thick that it protects them from 
being killed by fire. In a word, these trees 
survived when all the others died because they 
were not too ‘ thin-skinned,’ a lesson. Grand¬ 
father said, which might well apply to people, 
too. 

“Look quick! Look, Grandfather 1 What 
is that over there?” asked the children as a 


of the Great Northwest 


59 

little gray animal scudded by them in the 
twisted juniper bushes. 

“ It is what we call a stoat, or ermine. In 
the winter its fur becomes snowy white except 
for a few little tufts of black. This is the 
time the trappers take its fur so that it may 
be used on the robes of kings and queens be¬ 
cause of its rare beauty and costliness.” 

The children also saw a beautiful golden 
eagle as it flew from its nest, or eyrie, and 
soared far up on the mountain side till it 
passed out of sight. 

On the last evening before leaving the Park, 
they all rode out on horseback to where there 
was a beaver dam, as Uncle Bob wished them 
to see the national animal at work in its home 
surroundings. When they arrived at the little 
lake in which the beaver lived, they got into 
a boat and their guide brought them to a place 
where they could look down and see the 
beavers building their dam. They also saw 


6o Our Little Canadian Cousin 

the poplar trees these animals had brought 
down from the woods in order that they might 
feed on the bark. It was thus that Betty and 
Billy learned for the first time the real mean¬ 
ing of the phrase, “ to work like a beaver,” 
and further, why no person who did not work 
diligently and store up provisions against cold 
weather could be considered a typical Canadian 
citizen. 


CHAPTER VII 

SHOPPING IN EDMONTON 

Billy and Betty felt very lonely leaving 
their grandparents and Uncle Bob, but the for¬ 
mer said they must surely come back to the 
farm next summer. 

As for Uncle Bob, well — he thought they 
were very fortunate to be traveling around 
the country with never a care, and with some 
one to buy their railway tickets. This is what 
he called “ the glory of going.” He also 
taught them a song about it:— 

My heart is warm with friends I make, 

And better friends I’ll not be knowing, 

Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take, 

No matter where it’s going. 

At Edmonton they were met by Mr. and 
Mrs. Hillier, their Uncle and Aunt, and as 


61 


62 Our Little Canadian Cousin 


Betty was very tired and sleepy, Uncle Fred, 
who was a very big man, and correspondingly 
strong, picked her up as though she were a 
little bundle and carried her to his motor-car, 
where Aunt Anna tucked her into warm robes 
of bear skins. 

“ Kidnapped, that’s what has happened to 
you,” chuckled Uncle Fred, “ and your father 
need not come around claiming you when he 
gets home.” 

The children were delighted with the sleigh- 
bells, the clangor of the street railway, the 
brightness of the lights, and the quick move¬ 
ments of the people. Everybody seemed to 
be busy, and Billy thought they were like the 
Guard in Alice in the Looking-Glass, whose 
time was worth a thousand pounds a minute. 

Mother noticed it, too, and said it must be 
the dry clear air, and the height above the sea 
level, that made the people so active. 

“ Maybe this is the reason,” said Uncle Fred, 


of the Great Northwest 63 

“ but we like to remember here that all great 
nations are made in the north, and that victory 
has always run from north to south.’’ 

Billy had a dozen questions about this on the 
tip of his tongue, for this was a new idea to 
him, but their motor was now approaching the 
great stone bridge which is a mile long and 
which spans the Saskatchewan River, so that 
questions were forgotten in his admiration of 
the scenery on either side of the river. 

Uncle Fred told them the Indian meaning 
of the words was “ River of the Great Plains ” 
and then, with a naughty twinkle in his eye, 
said the river was so muddy that sometimes, 
in the summer, you could see the dust blow off 
it. 

Uncle Fred and Aunt Anna lived on the 
banks of the Saskatchewan River, in a wide, 
low bungalow with verandas and balconies 
from which you could look out over the city 
with its myriads of sparkling lights. The chil- 


64 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

dren thought they had never seen anything 
more beautiful, except perhaps the mountains 
in Banff. 

As school did not open for a fortnight, the 
twins had time to go shopping with their 
mother and to visit the sights. One of the 
places they visited was the large department 
store of the Hudson’s Bay Company, where 
they saw the beautiful stained glass windows 
with pictures of Indian Life in the Northwest 
Provinces, while it was still known as Rupert’s 
Land. 

It was upon the trade in furs with these 
red men, that this great Company had built 
up and kept their business for over two-hun¬ 
dred and fifty years, their dealings at all times 
being of the most friendly nature. 

In this store, Mrs. .Maynard bought Billy 
a coat of racoon skin, and Betty one of brown 
musquash, both of which were tied about with 
scarlet sashes. Nothing could exceed the de- 


of the Great Northwest 65 

light of the children in donning their beauti¬ 
fully fashioned garments, and they strutted 
up and down before the mirrors like proud 
little peacocks. 

Further, to keep them warm against the 
winter weather, their mother purchased woolen 
toques and gloves to match their sashes. Pull¬ 
ing down the toque, or cap, to show how com¬ 
pletely it protected him, the salesman said,^ 
“ With these suits, you can stay outdoors all 
day without Jack Frost ever catching you 
once.” 

“ And go snow-sledding too,” supplemented 
Billy, who was gently reminding his mother 
that it might be well to think of a coasting 
sled at the same time. 

** The snow can come as soon as it likes,” 
quoth Betty, “ for I want to wear my new 
things right away, and all the time.” 

The children were disappointed on learn¬ 
ing there was not much snow in Alberta till 


66 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

nearly Christmas, but correspondingly consoled 
when told that furs were very comfortable 
long before then. 

That evening, Uncle Fred, in answer to 
their questions, told how nearly every person 
in this province wears furs in the winter time 
because, this being the largest raw-fur 
market in the world, pelts are comparatively 
cheap. 

“ Where do those pelts come from. Uncle 
Fred? ” asked Billy. “ Can we see where the 
animals are trapped? ” 

“ Not very well. Boy. The furs are brought 
in from the great white forests that cover the 
land for hundreds of miles to the north. In 

i 

the spring, the buyers came to Edmonton from 
the American and European markets, when 
they bid on the large bales or bundles of fur 
the traders and trappers have brought in with 
them. 

“ It is only a few years since all these un- 


of the Great Northwest 67 

tanned skins used to be brought here by dog- 
train from Athabasca Landing, a hundred miles 
away. To that place, they had been brought 
up the great waterways; for you know the 
north is drained by five rivers, just as the Gar¬ 
den of Eden was. These are called the Mac- 
Kenzie, Great Slave, Peace, Athabasca and 
Saskatchewan. 

Yes! Yes! these are really wonderful riv¬ 
ers, the Peace alone being two thousand, two 
hundred miles long, and navigable all the way 

except for two miles where it breaks into heavy 
rapids.” 

“But how are the animals kept alive?” 
asked Betty. And how do the dogs escape 
being killed by the bears and wolves? ” 

A fair question, little Lady,” answered her 
uncle. The chief food of the wild animals is 
rabbit meat, and when the rabbits are not plen¬ 
tiful the fur catch is poor. Up there, the in¬ 
terest is not so much about the bushels of 


68 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

wheat per acre, as in the middle and southern 
parts of the province, but about the thickness 
of the rabbit runs. Every trapper keeps his 
eye on Mistress Molly Cottontail.” 


CHAPTER VIII 

IAN OF “ THE FUR BRIGADE ” 

For several days after their visit to the 
store of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the chil¬ 
dren asked so many questions concerning the 
Company that their uncle took them to call 
on an official who had come in from the far 
north to spend the winter at Edmonton. This 
gentleman, Mr. Hedley, who had charge of 
one of the trading-posts, called ‘ Forts,’ was 
accompanied by his son, Ian Hedley, a lad 
about the same age as Billy and Betty. They 
had come south to Edmonton with “ the Fur 
Brigade ” to market the year’s catch of furs. 

This boy had never been in a street car be¬ 
fore, neither had he ascended in an elevator. 
Telephones, moving pictures, and motor cars 
were things of surprising wonder. When first 


69 


70 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

he saw electric lights, he asked how the fire 
had entered the bottles. Still, he was a very 
courteous lad, as are all official folk from the 
north who. In spite of their Isolation, maintain 
a punctilio and exactness which the busy south 
forgets. 

Ian was also well-read, but In books which 
were published as long as a century ago. 
These books, from time to time, had been car¬ 
ried down the rivers by the officials or by the 
missionaries, who almost Invariably left the 
volumes behind. 

It was Ian who told Billy about the trading 
boat which comes down the MacKenzIe River 
once a year carrying the mail, as well as sup¬ 
plies for the posts. 

“And what are supplies?” asked Billy. 
“ Don’t you grow your own things the same as 
we do here? ” 

“ We grow our own vegetables, but all other 
things are brought In. Besides, my father 


of the Great Northwest 71 

must have goods to trade the Indians for their 
furs. 

‘ Every spring the Indians bring in the pelts 
on sleds, which are drawn by husky dogs, and 
trade these pelts for whatever they need.” 

“ Are husky dogs very strong? ” asked Billy. 
“Do they bite you?” asked Betty. “Have 
you got one?” asked the twins together. 

“ I have two husky pups,” answered the 
Northerner, “ these are half wolf-dogs and are 
cross with strangers, or if they are hungry. 

“ When the Indians come up with their furs 
in the spring, they carry their tent of skins, 
dried meat, a copper kettle, their traps, a gun, 
and things like that. And, oh I say, you would 
like to see all the boys and girls walking on 
snow-shoes beside their fathers and mothers. 
Nobody rides on the sleds but the baby, al¬ 
though sometimes its mother carries the baby 
on her back in a moss-bag. Indian babies 
are called papooses*^ 


72 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

“ But what do Indians buy with their furs? 
If they carry all their stuff on sleds, they can’t 
use much,” remarked Betty who had ever a 
keen eye for the domestic side of life. 

“ Oh! they buy the goods which come in on 
the ship. The men buy cloth, caps, blankets, 
ammunition, shirts, tea, sugar, tobacco, flour, 
axes, knives and red paint for their faces. 
You see Indians are brown, and not red. They 
have to paint their skin when they want to 
make it red. 

“ The women buy print for dresses, kettles, 
needles, glass beads, thimbles, string, head ker¬ 
chiefs, scissors and silk for embroidery. 
Father showed me how the accounts are kept, 
and how credit is given for a year to the In¬ 
dians who have not had good luck on the trap- 
line.” 

“What kind of furs do the Indians get? 
Are there any bear or moose skins? ” queried 
Billy. 


of the Great Northwest 


73 

“Oh! heaps of them,” replied the trader’s 
son. “ Father gets the skins of beaver, bears, 
mink, wolves and wolverines. Some of the 
trappers call the wolverines by the name of 
‘ glutton,’ because they will eat anything but a 
frying-pan, and maybe they can chew a pan, 
too. 

“ Father also barters with the Indians for 
fox-skins, skunk, fisher, marten, ermine, racoon 
and wild cats. The wild cats are called lynx, 
and their skin is sometimes used to make the 
tall busbies worn by the British Hussars. Oh 
yes! and the Indians bring in otter and musk¬ 
rat skins too. All these skins are packed in 
great big bundles and sent to the United States, 
and to Europe. 

“ Father says that when he took charge of 
the post, there were no steamboats on the riv¬ 
ers but just large scows called ‘ sturgeon-heads ’ 
and that these had, in some places, to be 
dragged up the rivers by men. The men 


74 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

walked beside the river on a tow-path and 
each man had a rope around him, the other 
end of it being fastened to the scow. He says 
this was called ‘power o’ men,’ but if the scow 
went with the current, it was ‘ white coal.’ ” 

Mr. Hedley explained to the children that 
“ the Company ” had been trading in North¬ 
west Canada for over 250 years, and that the 
territory to which Charles II gave them char¬ 
ter, was larger ihan all Europe. This was 
granted in the year 2670, by the king, to his 
“ Dear and entirely beloved cousin. Prince Ru¬ 
pert ” who became the first Governor of The 
Company of Adventurers of England trading 
into the Hudson’s Bay, better known as “ The 
Hudson’s Bay Company.” 

The idea was started by two French bush¬ 
rangers, named Pierre Raddison and Chouart 
de Groseilliers, who told Charles II that much 
money could be made by establishing trading- 
posts in Canada. Acting on this suggestion. 


of the Great Northwest 75 

he formed the Company and made the officers 
to be Lords-paramount of “ Rupert’s Land,” 
as the western territories were then called. 
This placed the fur trade on a commercial 
basis, and gave good government in all these 
regions. The headquarters of the Company 
are in London, England. 

“ How many posts or trading-places were 
there in this region?” asked Mr. Hillier. 
“ There must have been a good many.” 

“ At one time there were 134, but many of 
these have been abandoned. The first one 
built was on Hudson’s Bay. I think it was 
called Prince Charles’ Fort. It was a lonely 
time for the first men who wintered here, and 
one of them wrote in his diary ‘ that the earth 

seemed frozen to death.’ 

“Then the Prince of Wales’ Fort was 
erected and had walls twenty-five feet thick 
at the base. These walls are now only roost¬ 
ing places for the sea-birds of the Atlantic, 


76 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

but are among the most impressive ruins on 
the continent. . 

“ Fort Chipewyan, at Lake Athabasca, is the 
oldest post now in use. It was from this place 
that Alexander MacKenzie, in the year 1789, 
started for the Arctic Ocean, and that Sir John 
Franklin, in 1819, outfitted for his ill-fated 
polar voyage. 

“ These posts, or ‘ factories ’ as they were 
formerly called, are usually a group of log or 
frame buildings, and long ago, were sur¬ 
rounded by high wooden walls. Over each 
fort there floats the Company’s flag — a red 
one with the letters H. B. C. — while above it 
floats the Union Jack, the flag of Britain. 

“ At Christmas, and other holiday occasions, 
many dances and feasts were held in the Forts, 
the ‘ Gentlemen Adventurers ’ and the natives 
coming in from long distances for the celebra¬ 
tion.” 

Mr. Hedley, had with him the copy of an 


of the Great Northwest 77 

entry in the records of Fort Simpson nearly 
eighty years ago, telling how New Year’s Day 
was spent at the post, and he read this aloud 
for his visitors:— 

18^8. New Yearns Day, The morning 
was ushered in by a salute fired by our people 
at the windows and doors, after which they 
came to wish us a Happy New Year — and in 
return, in conformity to the custom of the 
Country — they were treated, the men with 
half a glass of brandy each, and the women with 
a kiss, and the whole of them with as many 
cakes as they chose to take, and some raisins. 
One of our gentlemen, who had a bottle of 
shrub, treated them to a glass, and after some 
chit-chat conversation they retired, firing a sa¬ 
lute on going out. In the evening, they played 
blindman’s buff, concluding the fete by a supper 
in the hall. I, also, gave each of the men a 
fathom of twist tobacco and a clay pipe.” 

“ I have read this record not only to show 


78 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

how the holidays were celebrated up at the far 

k 

edge of the world, but also to show the 
friendly relations of the officers to the red 
men. Indeed, ‘ the Company ’ touched these 
people on every side of their lives, and this ap¬ 
plied to their white employees as well. 

“ They tell a story,” continued Mr. Hedley, 
“ at Fort MacPherson on the delta of the 
MacKenzie River, of a little girl whose lesson 
of the previous Sunday was being reviewed by 
her teacher. 

“ What punishment was given to Adam and 
Eve when they disobeyed the commands of 
God in the Garden of Eden?” asked the 
teacher. 

“ Without waiting to consider so simple a 
question, the child replied immediately, ‘ Why, 
of course, they had to leave the Company.’ ” 

Mr. Hedley further told the children about 
some of the great men who had, since the year 
1670, been the Governors of the Hudson’s Bay 


of the Great Northwest 79 

Company, among these being Prince Rupert; 
James, Duke of York (afterwards King James 
II) ; John, Lord Churchill, later known as the 
Duke of Marlborough; the Earl of Kimberly; 
Lord Strathcona, and the present Governor, 
Sir Robert M. Kindersley who is one of the 
tallest and most striking looking men in Eng¬ 
land. 

It was this last named Governor who said 

recently, “ The Company has good reason to 

« 

feel that the people of Canada take some pride 
in an institution, most of the activities of which 
are carried on in their country, which has its 
roots in a remote past, and a record which is 
unique in the history of trading corporations.” 


CHAPTER IX 


HOLIDAY SURPRISES 

Although the British flag floats over the 
public school to which Billy and Betty went, 
they found Little Cousins from nearly all the 
countries in the world. All these, while speak¬ 
ing English, were still taught to love their na¬ 
tive country and to cherish its history and tra¬ 
ditions. 

Apart from their studies, Billy learned to 
use tools and to make articles of furniture, 
while Betty learned sewing and simple cook¬ 
ing. They also played at baseball, basket¬ 
ball and the other games of the school. 

On Sports Day, Billy and Betty were taken 
to see the students of the Alberta University 
run, jump, and engage in feats of strength. 
They also saw the library, the medical college. 


80 


of the Great Northwest 8i 

the arts building and the residences where the 
students live. Most of the students were girls, 
for the youths of lighting-age had all gone to 
the Great War in Europe. 

In the Parliament Buildings, to which they 
were also taken they saw the paintings of their 
Majesties, the King and Queen, as well as 
other things which interested them, and heard 
explained what a session of parliament meant. 

One morning just three days before Christ¬ 
mas, Uncle Fred knocked loudly at their bed¬ 
room doors and called out “ Sleepy Heads! 
Sleepy Heads! who is going to gather the 
Christmas tree? ” No second call was needed 
and, all through breakfast, the children 
planned about the wreaths and ropes of green¬ 
ery that were to be made from the twigs of 
spruce trees which grew in the country here¬ 
abouts. 

All the family went to gather the tree, and 
the evergreen boughs, which Lee, the Chinese 


82 Our Little Canadian Cousin 


cook, brought home in a sleigh. Mrs. Hillier 
told them the fir, or evergreen, is the tree of 
the Christ-child, and that when it is set up the 
master of the house should say, “ Peace be to 
this household and to all the households of 
Canada.” 

On Christmas Eve, the children accompanied 
their mother and aunt to the hospitals, and 
children’s shelters where they left baskets of 
food, toys, fruit, and cake as well as pretty 
cards and booklets. 

It was snowing on Christmas morning and 
all the world seemed wrapped in cotton-batting. 
Later, the sun came out and shone so brightly 
that the snow sparkled as though it were 
sprinkled with diamond-dust. 

After returning from church, dinner was 
served in the big hallway so that the family 
and all their guests could be seated at once. 
And such a dinner as it was! — oyster soup, 
roast turkey with strings of sausages, potatoes. 


of the Great Northwest 83 

celery, corn, plum-pudding and mince pies with 
nuts, raisins and fruit in abundance. When 
“ Absent Friends ” had been toasted, and every 
one had donned a funny paper cap from the 
crackers they had pulled, the large doors were 
opened into the dining room where Santa 
Claus, in furs and bells, distributed the lovely 
presents which included a heap of gifts which 
Colonel Maynard had left behind, with instruc¬ 
tions that they be not opened till this Christ¬ 
mas Day. 

Afterwards, all the party went out to see 
the ski-jumping on the river banks, this being 
the annual contest for the city. 

As they lifted themselves from the river 
bank, and made their wondrous leaps in the 
air, the children thought they looked like fly¬ 
ing birds and both decided at once that, when 
they were large enough, they would be skiers 
too. 

On New Year’s Day, Billy and Betty were 


84 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

taken to see the ceremony called “ the Blessing 
of the Waters ” which was performed by the 
Austrian people on the ice of the river. All 
the while, little birds called snow-buntings 
hopped in and out among the priests and 
people as if they were helping with the cere¬ 
mony too. 

“ These are hardy little birds,” explained 
their aunt, “and sing in the coldest weather; 
but when the robins, blue-birds, swallows and 
other feathered folk come back in the spring, 
the little buntings fly away and leave us.” 

Much of the holiday season was spent by 
the children on the toboggan slides and one 
night they were given a party, it being Billy’s 
and Betty’s birthday. 

A huge fire was lit on the snow, several trees 
being piled up in a heap with pine cones aplenty 
as kindling. To add to the celebration, the 
northern lights obligingly showed themselves 
in the sky, in curtains of flaming color. Truly 



MUCH OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON WAS SPENT BY THE 
CHILDREN ON THE TOBOGGAN SLIDES.” 




of the Great Northwest 85 

it was a great display of fireworks, and one 
which did not cost a cent. 

During the vacation there were hockey 
matches on the ice, sleigh-rides, afternoons at 
the theater, and other wonderful things, but 
the most wonderful of all was the receipt of 
a cablegram from England to their mother. 

At first, she was afraid to open it, and 
buried her face in her hands for she feared 
the worst had befallen her husband on the 
fields of Flanders where he fought with his 
men. 

It was really Aunt Anna who opened it at 
last, and told how Colonel Maynard had been 
ordered back to Canada to raise another bat¬ 
talion, and would be in Winnipeg in a fort¬ 
night’s time. 

This was how the children came to leave 
the Province of Alberta, just when they had 
learned to love it so well, but still they were 
going home to -Winnipeg, and to Daddy, so 


86 Our Little Canadian Cousin 

that their hearts were very light, their feet and 
tongues very nimble. 

Happy Billy and Betty! Thrice happy 

Mother! Let all the Little Cottsins send them 
love and greetings across the miles I 


THE END 


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thinking; it knits hearts; it unfolds neighborhood plans 
in a way that makes one tingle to try carrying them 
out, and most of all it proves that in daily life, threads 
of wonderful issues are being woven in with what 
appears the most ordinary of material, but which in 
the end brings results stranger than the most thrilling 
fiction.”— Belle Kellogg Towne in The Young People’s 
Weekly, Chicago. 

PEGGY RAYMOND’S VACATION 

“It is a clean, wholesome, hearty story, well told 
and full of incident. It carries one through experiences 
that hearten and brighten the day.”— Utica, N. Y., 
Observer. 

PEGGY RAYMOND’S SCHOOL^ DAYS 

“ It is a bright, entertaining story, with happy girls, 
good times, natural development, and a gentle earnest¬ 
ness of general tone.”— The Christian Register, Boston. 

THE FRIENDLY TERRACE QUARTETTE 

“The story is told in easy and entertaining style 
and is a most delightful narrative, especially for young 
people. It will also make the older readers feel younger, 
for while reading it they will surely live again in the 
days of their youth.”— Troy Budget. 

PEGGY RAYMOND’S WAY $1.75 

“ The author has again produced a story that is 
replete with' wholesome incidents and makes Peggy 
more lovable than ever as a companion and leader.” 
—World of Books. 

“It possesses a plot of much merit and through its 
324 pages it weaves a tale of love and of adventure 
which ranks it among the best books for girls.”— Cohoes 
American. 

A—5 



THE PAGE COMPANY’S 


FAMOUS LEADERS SERIES 

By Charles H. L. Johnston 

Each large 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated, 

'per volume ....... $9.00 

FAMOUS CAVALRY LEADERS 

“ More of such books should be written, books that 
acquaint young readers with historical personages in a 
pleasant, informal way.” — New York Sun. 

FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEFS 

“ Mr. Johnston has done faithful work in this volume, 
and his relation of battles, sieges and struggles of these 
famous Indians with the whites for the possession of 
America is a worthy addition to United States History.” 
— New York Marine Journal, 

FAMOUS SCOUTS 

“ It is the kind of a book that will have a great fascina¬ 
tion for boys and young men .”—New London Day. 

FAMOUS PRIVATEERSMEN AND ADVEN¬ 
TURERS OF THE SEA 

“The tales are more than merely interesting; they are 
entrancing, stirring the blood with thrilling force.” — 
Pittsburgh Post. 

FAMOUS FRONTIERSMEN AND HEROES OF 
THE BORDER 

“ The accounts are not only authentic, but distinctly 
readable, making a book of wide appeal to all who love 
the history of actual adventure.” — Cleveland Leader. 

FAMOUS DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS 
OF AMERICA 

“ The book is an epitome of some of the wildest and 
bravest adventures of which the world has known.” — 
Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 

FAMOUS GENERALS OF THE GREAT WAR 

Who Led the United States and Her Allies to a Glo¬ 
rious Victory. 

“ The pages of this book have the charm of romance 
without its unreality. The book illuminates, with life¬ 
like portraits, the history of the World War.” — Roches* 
ter Post Express. 

A—6 



BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


FAMOUS LEADERS SERIES (Con.) 

By Eowiiir Wildman 

FAMOUS LEADERS OF INDUSTRY.—First 
Series 

“Are these stories interesting? Let a boy read them; 
and tell you. He will pick out ‘ the best machine 
gun in the worldthe man who worked eighteen to 
twenty hours a day; the man who kodaked the earth; 
the inventor who died in debt; the case in which Lincoln 
earned his first fee; the secret of Wool worth’s success 
and the man who says ‘ I can’t be bothered eating.’ ”—• 
Boston Transcript. 

FAMOUS LEADERS OF INDUSTRY.—Second 
Series 

“ As fascinating as fiction are these biographies, 
which emphasize their humble beginning and drive 
home the truth that just as every soldier of Napoleon 
carried a marshal’s baton in his knapsack, so every 
American youngster carries potential success under his 
hat.”— New York World. 

FAMOUS LEADERS OF CHARACTER: In 
America from the Latter Half of the Nine¬ 
teenth Century 

“An informing, interesting and inspiring book for 
boys.”— Presbyterian Banner. 

“Is a book that should be read by every boy in 
the whole country. . . . ”— Atlanta Constitution. 

“Opportunity beckons every boy, and this book may 
suggest the route to be followed. It is well worth 
reading.”— Cortland Standard. 

A—7 




THE PAGE COMPANY’S 


WORKS OF EVALEEN STEIN 

THE CHRISTMAS PORRINGER 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated by Adelaide 
Everhart.$1.50 

This story happened many hundreds of years ago in 
the quaint Flemish city of Bruges and concerns a little 
girl named Karen, who worked at lace-making with her 
aged grandmother. 

GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and 
decorated in colors by Adelaide Everhart . . $1.50 

“ No works in juvenile fiction contain so many of the 
elements that stir the hearts of children and grown-ups 
as well as do the stories so admirably told by this 
author.”— Louisville Daily Courier. 

A LITTLE SHEPHERD OF PROVENCE 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated by Diantha 

H. Marlowe.$1.50 

“ The story should be one of the influences in the 
life of every child to whom good stories can be made 
to appeal.”— Public Ledger. 

THE LITTLE COUNT OF NORMANDY 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated by John Goss $1.50 

“ This touching and pleasing story is told with a 
wealth of interest coupled with enlivening descriptions 
of the country where its scenes are laid and of the 
people thereof.”— Wilmington Every Evening, 

WHEN FAIRIES WERE FRIENDLY 

Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated.$1.65 

“ These stories are written for children in the ‘ believ¬ 
ing years,’ but their literary value is so distinct that 
any book lover is enriched by their possession.”— The 
Herald, Lexington, Ky. 

“ The stories are music in prose—they are like pearls 
on a chain of gold—each word seems exactly the right 
word in the right place; the stories sing themselves 
out, they are so beautifully expressed.”— The Lafayette 
Leader. 

A—8 





BOOKS FOR YOU NO PEOPLE 


MR. DO SOMETHING; Of the Island of Make 
Believe 

By Blanche E. Wade. 

With 8 plates in full color, and many other 
illustrations, cloth decorative, 12mo .... $1.75 
The pervading genius of the story is “ Do Some¬ 
thing,” a roly-poly fairy, who is the embodiment of all 
that is bright and sunshiny. He wears a continuous 
smile and is forever on the move, making up new games 
and stories for boys and girls. No child can fail to 
be entranced by the story; and, once imbued with the 
spirit of “ Do Something,” the tedious hours of inaction, 
caused by lack of pleasing methods of play, will be for¬ 
ever banished. 

DENISE OF THE THREE PINES 

By Edith A. Sawyer. 

Cloth decorative, 13mo, illustrated.$1.65 

Denise is a modern heroine, brave and laughter- 
loving, with all the appeal and charm which go to 
make a fascinating character. 

LOVE ME, LOVE MY DOG 

By Carolyn Verhoeff. 

Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated.$1.65 

Imagine yourself in this position,—a little girl, mov¬ 
ing with your family to a new community, where the 
boys and girls are strange and unfriendly; then to your 
house come a little orphan and her dog, Billy. This is 
the story of the blossoming of little Constance’s charac¬ 
ter under the loving influence of the little orphan. And 
Billy, the dog, is quite an important character, as you 
will see. 

LITTLE GLAD HEART 

By Linda Stevens Almond. 

Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated.$1.65 

This story is marked by a timely point of view. The 
story tells of the Warwick family, father, mother, Vir¬ 
ginia and Joan. Mr. Warwick has sent Virginia to 
school at a great sacrifice, and the association with girls 
of wealthy parents has made her dissatisfied with the 
simplicity of her home. In contrast to Virginia’s 
hauteur and selfishness are the kindly deeds of Joan, 
“ Little Glad Heart.” 

A—9 




THE PAGE COMPANY’S 


w* 


IDEAL BOOKS FOR GIRLS 

Each, one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, . $1.10 

A LITTLE CANDY BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL 

By Amy L. Waterman. 

“ This is a peculiarly interesting little book, written in 
the simple, vivacious style that makes these little manuals 
as delightful to read as they are instructive.” — Nash¬ 
ville Tennessean and American. 

A LITTLE COOK-BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL 

By Caroline French Benton. 

This book explains how to cook so simply that no one 
can fail to understand every word, even a complete 
novice. 

A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING BOOK FOR A 
LITTLE GIRL 

Bv Caroline French Benton. 

A little girl, home from school on Saturday mornings, 
finds out how to make helpful use of her spare time, and 
also how to take proper pride and pleasure in good 
housework. 

A LITTLE SEWING BOOK FOR A LITTLE 
GIRL 

By Louise Frances Cornell. 

“ It is comprehensive and practical, and yet revealingly 
instructive. It takes a little girl who lives alone with 
her mother, and shows how her mother taught her the 
art of sewing in its various branches. The illustrations 
aid materially.” — Wilmington Every Evening. 

A LITTLE PRESERVING BOOK FOR A 
LITTLE GIRL 

By Amy L. Waterman. 

In simple, clear wording, Mrs. Waterman explains 
every step of the process of preserving or “canning” 
fruits and vegetables. 

A LITTLE GARDENING BOOK FOR A LITTLE 
GIRL 

By Peter Martin. 

This little volume is an excellent guide for the young 
gardener. In addition to truck gardening, the book gives 
valuable information on flowers, the planning of the 
garden, selection of varieties, etc. 

A —10 



BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


THE HADLEY HALL SERIES 

By Louise M. Breitenbach 
Each large 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated, 
per volume $1.65 

ALMA AT HADLEY HALL , ^ . 

“The author is to be congratulated on having written 
such an appealing book for — Detroit Free Press. 

ALMA’S SOPHOMORE YEAR . = 

“ It cannot fail to appeal to the lovers of good things 
in girls’ books.” — Boston Herald. 

ALMA’S JUNIOR YEAR i 

“ The diverse characters in the boarding-school a 
strongly drawn, the incidents are well developed and the 
action is never dull.” —T/ie Boston Herald. 

ALMA’S SENIOR YEAR 

“A healthy, natural atmosphere breathes from every 
chapterf” — Boston Transcript. 


DOCTOR’S LITTLE GIRL 

^ tr ^ \ _^ I ^ ^ A Tinn 


By Marion Ames Taggart 
Each large IZmo, cloth, illustrated, per volume, $1.7o 

THE DOCTOR’S LITTLE GIRL 

“ A charming story of the ups and do\vn3 of the hfe 

of a dear Uttle maid.”—The Churchman. 

SWEET NANCY: The Further Adventures of 

THE Doctor’s Little Girl. inflnpnce 

“Just the sort of book to amuse, while its influence 

cannot but be elevating.”—Aeia York 

NANCY, THE DOCTOR’S LITTLE PARTNER 

“ The story is sweet and fascinating, such as many 
girls of whZome tastes will en^oy.^^Springfield Umon. 

NANCY PORTER’S OPPORTUNITY 

“ Nancy shows throughout that she is a splendid young 
woman, with plenty of pluck.”—Bosiow 

NANCY AND THE COGGS TWINS 

« The Lry is refreshing.’’-I^e^a York Sun. 

A—11 









THE PAGE COMPANY’S 


THE BOYS’ STORY OF THE 
RAILROAD SERIES 

By Burton E. Stevenson 

Each large 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated, 
per volume .$1.75 

THE YOUNG SECTION-HAND; Or, The Ad¬ 

ventures OF Allan West. 

“ The whole range of section railroading is covered in 
the story.”— Chicago Post. 

THE YOUNG TRAIN DISPATCHER 

“ A vivacious account of the varied and often hazard¬ 
ous nature of railroad life.”— Congregationalist. 

THE YOUNG TRAIN MASTER 

“ It is a book that can be unreservedly commended to 
anyone who loves a good, wholesome, thrilling, informing 
yarn.”— Passaic News. 

THE YOUNG APPRENTICE; Or, Allan West’s 
Chum. 

“ The story is intensely interesting.”— Baltimore Sun. 

BOY SCOUT STORIES 

By Brewer Corcoran 

Published with the a/pproval of The Boy Scouts of 
A merica.” 

Each, one volume, 12mo, cloth decorative, illus¬ 
trated, per volume .$1.75 

THE BOY SCOUTS OF KENDALLVILLE 

The story of a bright young factory worker who can¬ 
not enlist, but his knowledge of woodcraft and wig¬ 
wagging, gained through Scout practice, enables him to 
foil a German plot to blow up the munitions factory. 

THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE WOLF PATROL 

The boys of Gillfield who were not old enough to go 
to war found just as many thrills at home, chasing a 
German spy. 

THE BOY SCOUTS AT CAMP LOWELL 

“ The best book for boys I have ever read! ” says our 
editor. Mr. Corcoran has again found enough exciting 
material to keep the plot humming from cover to cover. 
A—12 








IBOOKS FOB YOUNG PEOPLE 


HILDEGARDE - MARGARET SERIES 

By Laura E. Richards 
Eleven Volumes 

The Hadegarde-Margaret Series, beginning with 
“ Queen Hildegarde ” and ending with “ The Merry- 
weathers,” make one of the best and most popular series 
of books for girls ever written. 

Each large 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated, 
per volume $1.75 

The eleven volumes boxed as a set . • $19.25 

UST OF TITLES 

QUEEN HILDEGARDE 

HILDEGARDE’S HOLIDAY 

HILDEGARDE’S HOME 

HILDEGARDE’S NEIGHBORS 

HILDEGARDE »S HARVEST 

THREE MARGARETS 

MARGARET MONTFORT 

PEGGY 

RITA 

FERNLEY HOUSE 
THE MERRYWEATHERS 

A—13 



THE PAGE COMPANY’S 


DELIGHTFUL BOOKS FOR LITTLE 

FOLKS 

By Laura E. Richards 

THREE MINUTE STORIES 

Cloth decorative, 12mo, with eight plates in full color 
and many text illustrations .... $1.75 
“ Little ones will understand and delight in the stories 
and poems .”—Indianapolis News. 

FIVE MINUTE STORIES 

Cloth decorative, square 12mo, illustrated . $1.75 
A charming collection of short stories and clever 
poems for children. 

MORE FIVE MINUTE STORIES 

Cloth decorative, square 12mo, illustrated . $1.75 

A noteworthy collection of short stories and poems 
for children, which will prove as popular with mothers 
as with boys and girls. 

FIVE MICE IN A MOUSE TRAP 

Cloth decorative, square 12mo, illustrated . $1.75 

The story of their lives and other wonderful things 
related by the Man in the Moon, done in the vernacular 
from the lunacular form by Laura E. Richards. 


A NEW BOOK FOR GIRLS 

By Laura E. Richards 

HONOR BRIGHT 

Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated . . . $1.75 

No girl ever deserved more to have a series of stories 
written about her than does HONOR BRIGHT, the new¬ 
est heroine of a talented author who has created many 
charming girls. Born of American parents who die 
in the far East, Honor spends her school days at the 
Pension Madeline in Vevey, Switzerland, surrounded by 
playmates of half a dozen nationalities. As are all of 
Mrs. Richards’ heroines, HONOR BRIGHT is the high¬ 
est type of the young girl of America, with all the in¬ 
dependence of character which is American to the core 
in young as in old. 

A—14 






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